


sunsets

by shazamitylam



Series: Dreams [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Fix-It, Gen, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-25
Updated: 2018-05-25
Packaged: 2019-05-13 18:27:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14754014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shazamitylam/pseuds/shazamitylam
Summary: Peter finds himself wandering inside a dream, alone except for the company of Bucky Barnes.





	sunsets

Peter opened his eyes to a vacant land, one of shallow water and an unending sunset. He stumbled forward, unsure of his footing and...well, everything.

“Mr. Stark?” he called out. The water splashed as he turned around to look for him. He’d just been there with Peter, hadn’t he? Along with the others…

Falling stone, explosions...man, what had _happened_? They’d been so close to taking that gauntlet from Thanos.

“Hey, you’re that Spider-Kid, aren’t you?”

“Spider- _Man_ ,” Peter emphasized, a pout forming on his lips as he turned to face the newcomer. His eyes widened as he recognized the former Winter Soldier, the guy he’d fought at that airport once. “Why are you here? Where is _here_?”

“Wish I knew,” Barnes said, stepping toward him. Peter took a step back, unsure of his intentions. After all, they’d been enemies the last time they’d seen each other. Barnes shook his head. “Relax, kid. I’m not here to fight you. In fact, I think…” He grimaced. “Never mind.”

“What? What is it? You know something, don’t you?”

Barnes looked at their surroundings and sighed. “I think we’re dead.”

Peter almost took another step back. What? But he was right here, flesh and all…

_“I don’t feel so good.”_

A desperate embrace and an uncomfortable feeling of lightness, of fading away.

_“I’m sorry.”_

“H-How? I don’t feel dead, and neither do you!” Peter said, walking up to Barnes to poke him in the chest.

Barnes patted at his arms, as if a part of him doubted his own words. “The last thing I remember...I don’t know. I just have a feeling. It must have been Thanos.”

“Thanos...he…” Peter gasped. “I-I think he stabbed Mr. Stark! And then he disappeared into a portal after getting the Time Stone.”

Barnes cursed under his breath. “So he got all of the stones. I guess that would explain how he could kill us without even touching us.”

“Can you stop saying “died” and “killed”? We’re right here, and we’re fine,” Peter said, almost pleadingly. I mean, could you blame him? Finding himself in some sort of wasteland and being told he was dead was _not_ his idea of a fun time.

“Oh man...Aunt May’s gonna kill me.”

Barnes raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you just say not to...never mind.”

“Do you think she’ll be okay? Please let her be okay, please…” And Mr. Stark...he hadn’t looked too good when Peter had last seen him. But maybe it was a good sign that Peter wasn’t seeing him here, too?

Barnes put a hand on his shoulder. “She’ll...be okay, kid. The Avengers who are left will figure it out,” he said firmly, and Peter took a deep breath. Right. No freaking out.

“So...what do we do now?”

Barnes started walking forward. “I guess...we start looking for others, if they’re around. And we wait.”

Peter made a face, even as he followed the other man. “I hate waiting.”

“Me too,” Barnes chuckled.

* * *

 

“So, you’re from Brooklyn?”

“Yeah. You?”

“Queens.”

A corner of Barnes’s lips lifted into a half-smile. “And what should I call you, Spider-Kid?”

Peter’s eyes narrowed. “Peter. My name’s Peter. What’s yours?”

“...You can call me Bucky.”

They continued to walk in silence, and Peter noted that he’d lost track of time. How long had they been walking here? How long had they been looking at the same, seemingly eternal sunset? And to be honest, he couldn’t even see the sun! What was lighting the area, then?

“How long have we been here?” Peter asked, and Bucky glanced at him.

“Dunno. Probably longer than we think. I’m surprised we haven’t run into anyone else yet.”

Peter tried not to fidget. “I know we weren’t the only ones that...Thanos took care of. So...where are they?” He paused. “Wait. I’m not just imagining this, am I? This isn’t a trick?”

“I’m as real as you, buddy.” Bucky said, holding out a hand. Peter tentatively held it and squeezed, making sure Bucky wasn’t going to disappear on him.

“Okay,” he said, letting go of his hand. “I’m real, you’re real. This is happening.” Peter sighed. “This is so lame. We’re just walking around in the middle of nowhere.”

“Yeah...hey.” Bucky frowned, stuttering in his steps. “Do you feel that?”

“What?”

His voice seemed to become more and more faint by the second, and Peter looked at him in a panic. “Bucky?

Bucky disappeared right before his eyes like dust in a storm, and Peter was left alone. Great. Wonderful. Next thing you know, he was going to vanish too, only to end up who knows where, and-

“Peter!”

…Mr. Stark?

Peter felt his knees buckle, only to be held up by arms wrapping around him. After a moment, Mr. Stark moved to hold him by the shoulders and looked him in the eyes.

“You all right, kid?”

“I’m...I thought I was…”

Mr. Stark shook his head. “Thanos is gone. We’re safe. Or, as safe as we can be after all that.”

Peter tried to stand and stumbled, ending up in Mr. Stark’s arms again. “I’m sorry-”

“No, no, it’s fine,” he said, letting Peter straighten and stand on his own. “There we go.”

“Is everyone else okay? What about Aunt May? And my friends?”

“They’re fine, I’m sure. We can go see them if you’d like? Forget debriefing and the like, I think you need this.”

Peter took a deep breath, starting to feel at ease for the first time since this fiasco had started. “Thank you, Mr. Stark.”


End file.
